1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a consumable product accommodating device, a liquid ejection device comprising the consumable product accommodating device, and method for controlling the consumable product accommodating device.
2. Related Art
There are known liquid ejection devices having an image forming part in which a liquid (e.g., an ink) is ejected, and caused to adhere, from a liquid ejection head onto a medium (e.g., a paper sheet or the like) to form a predetermined image (including text and graphics) on the medium. In a liquid ejection device of such description, the medium is also a consumable product that is consumed by being fed to the image forming part. In an instance in which, e.g., the liquid is ejected onto a medium that is provided in a large number of sheets or a medium that has a long length in the direction in which the medium is transported, and an image is formed, it is necessary for the medium to be supplied continuously to the image forming part, i.e., a consumption side in which the medium is consumed for image formation. Therefore, a liquid ejection device of such description is provided with a consumable product accommodating device, configured so as to accommodate a consumable product comprising a medium having a long length in a state of being overlappingly rolled into a roll shape; and to cause the consumable product to rotate, thereby unrolling the roll-shaped medium and dispensing and feeding the medium towards the consumption side.
A consumable product accommodating device of such description is provided with an accommodating body for accommodating the consumable product, which is a roll-shaped medium. In an instance in which the medium has been unrolled and depleted from the accommodated consumable product, replacement work is carried out in which the consumable product accommodated in the accommodating body is replaced with a new consumable product.
For example, devices having a configuration in which a paper roll, which is the consumable product, is slidingly moved in a horizontal direction from an accommodating chamber as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 2009-226696 are used for this replacement work. In a device of such description, a worker performing the paper roll replacement work is able to use a sliding movement to pull out the paper roll from the position at which the paper roll is dispensed and fed towards the consumption side to the position at which replacement is possible, and thereby perform the paper roll replacement work.
In such a device, a cushioning member (e.g., a damper), for applying a cushioning force to resist an inertial force generated in the direction of movement in relation to the sliding movement of the accommodating body, is sometimes provided to the consumable product accommodating device. Providing the cushioning member makes it possible to cushion and suppress, so as to weaken, the inertial force generated with respect to the paper roll in the direction in which the paper roll is pulled out. As a result, it is possible to suppress abrupt movements of, e.g., an accommodating body accommodating a new and unused paper roll and having a heavier weight, and to cause the accommodating body to move slowly, thereby suppressing causes of faults and improving the operability of the pulling-out work performed by the worker.